Filming locations in Matera

Matera is so timeless it has stood in for ancient Jerusalem on screen, but its most recent star turn is pure adrenaline: the explosive opening car chase of No Time to Die, James Bond's 2021 farewell, tears straight through the city's honey-coloured stone.

The location is the Sassi di Matera, the extraordinary districts of cave dwellings and ravine bridges carved into the rock. This is where Bond's Aston Martin spins and guns through the lanes, and the Sassi themselves are a free, UNESCO-listed warren best explored slowly on foot. Some rock churches and furnished cave houses charge a small entry, and good shoes matter on the worn stone.

Because the whole old town is the set, there is no single ticket to chase. Wander the stepped alleys, dip into a furnished cave dwelling to see how people once lived here, and time your visit so you reach the viewpoint across the ravine at sunset, when the stone glows.

Practically, Matera sits in Italy's deep south, a few hours from Bari or Naples, which makes it more of a deliberate stop than a casual day trip. Give it an overnight if you can; the Sassi are at their most cinematic in the low light of early morning and late evening, long after the Bond crowds have gone.